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15th out of 104 books
—
454 voters
Slob
by
Ellen Potter
Twelve-year-old Owen Birnbaum is the fattest kid in school. But he?s also a genius who invents cool contraptions? like a TV that shows the past. Something happened two years ago that he needs to see. But genius or not, there is much Owen can?t outthink. Like his gym coach, who?s on a mission to humiliate him. Or the way his Oreos keep disappearing from his lunch. He?s sure...more
Hardcover, 208 pages
Published
May 14th 2009
by Philomel
(first published March 30th 2009)
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I adored Owen. I absolutely loved his voice and honesty and the twists threaded throughout the plot. Not just a fun story, but also leaves a few subtle messages that kids need to hear. Enjoyed everything about this. A contender for read aloud next year!
Elements & style: the characters are Owen Birnbaurm[main characters],Jeremy Birnbaurm, Mason Ragg, Nima,& mr. Wolly. The climax is when Own finds out about how his sister Jeremy was faking the break though that Owen was finding who killed his parents. The antagonist in the start was Mason Ragg a guy with the swicte blade in his sock, so Owen hough he was taking his oreos.My mood when I was reading this book was dark & sad.
Characteriztion: Owen is a fat tweleve year old boy really h...more
Characteriztion: Owen is a fat tweleve year old boy really h...more
I chose this book because on the cover there was the word "SLOB" with an oreo in the middle so I predicted that it ought to be a story about a fat kid. Since I enjoy reading about obese kids and their point of view, I decided to check it out from the library. This book is about a 12 year old boy who is getting bullied by his classmates and harassed by his P.E. teacher just because he's the fattest kid in school. He's also the smartest kid and he tries to find out who killed his parents two year...more
First, just take a look at that cover. What comes to mind? Looking at the cover, you think you know what this book is about, but you don't.
"A three-story red-brick nightmare of educational progress." (p.2)
That's how Owen Birnbaum introduces us to school, his school at least. At Owen's school students can determine their own "educational progress" by studying whatever floats their boat at the moment.
Being the smartest kid in the school, and now the fattest, brings problems for Owen, even at such...more
"A three-story red-brick nightmare of educational progress." (p.2)
That's how Owen Birnbaum introduces us to school, his school at least. At Owen's school students can determine their own "educational progress" by studying whatever floats their boat at the moment.
Being the smartest kid in the school, and now the fattest, brings problems for Owen, even at such...more
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I just finished this book tonight, I thought the twists in this story were very interesting. They all kind of came in one chunk and the end was really exciting as you can see i haven't been able to stop reading it! It helped as a reader than Owen was the narrator because this way I knew all his internal thinking. One thing I am unsure about is how Jeremy made it seem like Nemesis was working with just the poof.
A good book overall, i loved owen's character!
A good book overall, i loved owen's character!
I loved this book! I read it in one day, but was really conflicted about clicking to the next page as I didn't want the book to end.
The story is told from the point of view of Owen, a twelve year old boy. The entire story takes place over a very short period of time, a few weeks perhaps, maybe as long as a month, but I found myself caring about all the characters, even the minor ones (Alfred). Owen is fat, by his own admission, and rather intelligent, again by his own admission. He is bullied a...more
The story is told from the point of view of Owen, a twelve year old boy. The entire story takes place over a very short period of time, a few weeks perhaps, maybe as long as a month, but I found myself caring about all the characters, even the minor ones (Alfred). Owen is fat, by his own admission, and rather intelligent, again by his own admission. He is bullied a...more
I thought that Slob was an ok book. At times in the book it was hard to keep reading because it went slow. Other than that I think it was a very well written and described book.
The whole book went through Owen the main character getting bullied to someone stealing his three Oreo cookies. The whole book goes through Owen’s closest friends who turned against him but the closest one to him was the one who betrayed him the most. Owen is an orphan along with his sister. They were adopted by women na...more
The whole book went through Owen the main character getting bullied to someone stealing his three Oreo cookies. The whole book goes through Owen’s closest friends who turned against him but the closest one to him was the one who betrayed him the most. Owen is an orphan along with his sister. They were adopted by women na...more
Slob
208 pgs
Ellen Potter
Slob is about a kid named Owen Birnbaum. He is fifty seven percent fatter than the average eighth grader, but probably the smartest kid in eighth grade. When he was younger, both mother and father got shot in the deli they both owned. Since his seventh grade year, Owen has been trying to figure out a way to signal the surveillance tape from the night his parents died to find out who killed his parents on that fateful night. He names the machine he is working on Nemesis, b...more
208 pgs
Ellen Potter
Slob is about a kid named Owen Birnbaum. He is fifty seven percent fatter than the average eighth grader, but probably the smartest kid in eighth grade. When he was younger, both mother and father got shot in the deli they both owned. Since his seventh grade year, Owen has been trying to figure out a way to signal the surveillance tape from the night his parents died to find out who killed his parents on that fateful night. He names the machine he is working on Nemesis, b...more
I chose this book because I saw a lot of people reading it and thought that if that many people read it and said it was a good book I should try it too. The story is about how a small boy's parents were murdered and he was taken care of by a 911 dispatcher and now the boy gained weight and is trying to both lose it and find out who killed his parents. He has a tough time though because everyone picks on him and someone is stealing his Oreo cookies. The only quote I thought was decent enough is “...more
I chose this book because at the time, the word "Slob" looked interesting, but I expected the book to be a little bit better. This book is about this obese kid named Owen Birnbaum who is very smart but not popular in school. Recently, his Oreos are getting stolen and he thinks of every devious plan to try to catch the thief. My favorite quote from this book is “Jeremy used to hate it when she was younger because someone in her class told her redheads were freaks of nature." This just shows how m...more
DATE: 12-6-12
I'm currently reading the book "Slob" by Ellen Potter. So far I've gotten to page #117 and I have to say the book is pretty interesting... Owen (the main character) is an overweight twelve year-old boy, but although he may not by physically great, Owen has very high I.Q. scores and he whizzes through his homework in no time flat. One thing I really like about the book is Owen's incredible way of thought and his low self-esteem. He lets bully's attract to him like magnets and when th...more
I'm currently reading the book "Slob" by Ellen Potter. So far I've gotten to page #117 and I have to say the book is pretty interesting... Owen (the main character) is an overweight twelve year-old boy, but although he may not by physically great, Owen has very high I.Q. scores and he whizzes through his homework in no time flat. One thing I really like about the book is Owen's incredible way of thought and his low self-esteem. He lets bully's attract to him like magnets and when th...more
I picked up this book because i heard about how people liked & disliked the book, and i wanted to decide for myself, not to mention the cover looked interesting. I was right to choose it. It's about a boy named Owen Birnbaum, who is very obese and struggles with friends. When he finds out that a distant star is bouncing back television waves from the past, he sets out to see if he can find a way to receive the signal, and almost does until he finds out it was his sister trying to make him f
...more
Positive Points
I love the voice! This book is told from the POV of an overweight twelve-year-old boy. I would have found it a bit offensive, maybe, if the POV had been from anyone else, but Owen's comments about his large size and how he deals with it is sometimes funny, sometimes deep, always interesting. After reading the first few pages, I immediately decided I liked that kid. He made me laugh out loud several times, and he also made me think. He doesn't deny or try to hide the cruel way peop...more
I love the voice! This book is told from the POV of an overweight twelve-year-old boy. I would have found it a bit offensive, maybe, if the POV had been from anyone else, but Owen's comments about his large size and how he deals with it is sometimes funny, sometimes deep, always interesting. After reading the first few pages, I immediately decided I liked that kid. He made me laugh out loud several times, and he also made me think. He doesn't deny or try to hide the cruel way peop...more
Everywhere that I looked I would see someone with this book. In the halls , in the class , on the bus, on the streets. During class everyone would stop what they were doing , and read. I would go to the library and ask for the book,but it was always checked out. Until finally I found the book.Once I picked it up , I couldn't put it back down. Now I understood peoples reactions towards the book. This book contains many great descriptive scenes that describe the characters in great ways.
They didn...more
They didn...more
Jun 27, 2012
Emmet O'Neal Library- Children's Department
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Shelves:
2011,
realistic-fiction
Owen Birnbaum is a kid with a story, but all most of his classmates know about him is that he’s fat. His weight combined with his way-above-average intelligence makes him a target for bullies; in fact, even his P.E. coach looks for opportunities to humiliate him in front of his peers. Owen’s refuge is his home, where his mom and sister love him no matter what, where his neighbor Nima is a true friend, and where he can hole up in his room for hours at a time to work on his massive electronic proj...more
I'm surprised and delighted that SLOB hasn't yet been reviewed, especially since I haven't been able to make meetings.
The protagonist, Owen Birnbaum, wasn't always an overweight genius. The overweight has happened in the past 2 years since...(Don't read the MARC description--it spoils some of the suspense.) The genius leads him to perfect an invention whereby light waves from the past might bounce back to the present, letting us see things we'd missed, and Owen missed something really important...more
The protagonist, Owen Birnbaum, wasn't always an overweight genius. The overweight has happened in the past 2 years since...(Don't read the MARC description--it spoils some of the suspense.) The genius leads him to perfect an invention whereby light waves from the past might bounce back to the present, letting us see things we'd missed, and Owen missed something really important...more
Owen is fat. Really fat. He’s 57% fatter than most 12-year-old boys. And he’s a middle schooler. Ugh. He wasn’t always that way. Food for Owen Birnbaum fills the ache in his stomach that comes when he thinks of his past. Hints are slowly revealed as to what the tragedy is that happened to Owen and his sister, Caitlin or Jeremy. Caitlin is dealing with the past by joining the club GWAB, Girls Who are Boys, where she cuts her hair, wears boys clothes and changes her girl name to the boy name, Jere...more
When I read the first lines of SLOB, I wondered what I was in for: “My name is Owen Birnbaum, and I’m probably fatter than you are.” Was this going to be another “pity the fat kid” story? Or was it going to be another “here’s how to lose weight” story? I should have known better than to wonder. This is Ellen Potter. SLOB starts out with a simple problem: The cookies which Owen eats for lunch everyday have disappeared. I like Owen’s reason for this daily snack: “No matter how lousy my morning was...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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Slob was a great Contemperary fiction book. They really tied in the title with everything relating in the book. I have never read any book similar to this one, which is good because I dislike when a book is very common and has had the same story told in multiple books. The way all of the characters interact is very unique. This book sadly is much like a real life situation. As sad as it is, people are prejudice against others just because of things like they are larger than everyone else. This b...more
Grade 6-8–Owen is the fattest–and smartest–seventh grader in his New York City school. When he's not getting picked on by the school bully or trying to survive the world's worst P.E. teacher, he invents things. Currently Owen has two projects–a TV that will show events in the past and a trap to catch the thief who keeps stealing the Oreos from his lunchbox. Owen calls his invention Nemesis and insists that it needs to reach exactly two years back. As the story evolves, readers learn that there a...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
A lot of things can be said about Owen Birmbaum. He is twelve years old and the fattest kid in school. It’s not mean – it’s statistics. He hasn’t always been this way – only for the last two years. Another thing you can say about Owen is he is an easy target for bullies – even his gym teacher has targeted him as a source of personal entertainment and new feats of humiliation are orchestrated with each and every class.
Owen is not the only one having trouble. He is very close with his little siste...more
Owen is not the only one having trouble. He is very close with his little siste...more
Owen Birnbaum is one point below genius, and 57% above average weight for a 12-year-old boy. Add to that his sister, Caitlin, who now insists on dressing like a boy and being called Jeremy. Needless to say, school - even the progressive private Martha Doxie School - is not his most comfortable experience. When his three Oreo cookies start disappearing from his lunches and a scary new kid, Mason Ragg, appears on the same day, it looks like Owen's life is becoming even more difficult. Owen focuses...more
Reviewed by Natalie Tsang for TeensReadToo.com
Ellen Potter's SLOB is as delicious as its main character's beloved Oreo cookies (more on the cookies later). Things are not going well for twelve-year-old Owen Birnbaum. Even if you're one point from having a genius IQ, there are still some problems that are almost impossible to solve.
Owen's 57% fatter than the national average, which is bad enough, but after he embarrasses his gym teacher, Mr. Woolsey is out for revenge. Plus, someone is stealing h...more
Ellen Potter's SLOB is as delicious as its main character's beloved Oreo cookies (more on the cookies later). Things are not going well for twelve-year-old Owen Birnbaum. Even if you're one point from having a genius IQ, there are still some problems that are almost impossible to solve.
Owen's 57% fatter than the national average, which is bad enough, but after he embarrasses his gym teacher, Mr. Woolsey is out for revenge. Plus, someone is stealing h...more
A lot of things can be said about Owen Birmbaum. He is twelve years old and the fattest kid in school. It’s not mean – it’s statistics. He hasn’t always been this way – only for the last two years. Another thing you can say about Owen is he is an easy target for bullies – even his gym teacher has targeted him as a source of personal entertainment and new feats of humiliation are orchestrated with each and every class.
Owen is not the only one having trouble. He is very close with his little sist...more
Owen is not the only one having trouble. He is very close with his little sist...more
Owen is the butt of everyone’s jokes. Other kids make farting noises when he passes and he’s not sure if a suggestion to get a fat exemption from gym class was meant nicely or cruelly. Now someone is stealing Owen’s one pleasure in life: the three Oreo cookies he is allowed each day. Owen is also working on Nemesis, a television that will show the past. And he has one specific day in mind that he has to see. But things are getting out of hand. Owen is being bullied by his gym teacher, his best f...more
Owen Birnbaum is a kid with a story, but all most of his classmates know about him is that he’s fat. His weight combined with his way-above-average intelligence makes him a target for bullies; in fact, even his P.E. coach looks for opportunities to humiliate him in front of his peers. Owen’s refuge is his home, where his mom and sister love him no matter what, where his neighbor Nima is a true friend, and where he can hole up in his room for hours at a time to work on his massive electronic proj...more
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Ellen Potter (born 1973) is an American author of both children's and adult's books (as Ellen Toby-Potter). She grew up in Upper West Side, New York and studied creative writing at Binghamton University and now lives in Candor in upstate New York. She has been a contributor to Cimarron Review, Epoch, The Hudson Review, and Seventeen. Her novel Olivia Kidney was winner of the Child Magazine Best Bo...more
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“Jeremy used to hate it when she was younger because someone in her class told her redheads were freaks of nature.But our mother told her that redheads were genetically more courageous than other people and that she should always where her hair long,like a wariors badge of honor.”
—
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